Component package for maintaining safe operating temperature of components

ABSTRACT

A thermally insulated electronic component package and an instrument suitable for process conditions in a high temperature environment are disclosed. The component package includes a thin electronic component, a thermally insulating outer enclosure, and an insert made of a thermally insulating material that is sized and shaped to fit within the outer enclosure. The insert includes an inner cavity sized and shaped to receive the thin electronic component. In the instrument, the outer enclosure can be configured to mount to a substrate.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims the prioritybenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/302,763, filed Dec. 13,2005 and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication Number20060174720, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference. This application also claims the priority benefit of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/642,695, filed Dec. 18, 2009 as U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/642,695 and converted to a provisionalapplication on Jan. 7, 2010, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to high temperature, wirelessmeasurement devices and more particularly to methods that keep thecomponents of the devices safe while the device is exposed to hightemperatures over an extend period of time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The fabrication of an integrated circuit, display or disc memorygenerally employs numerous processing steps. Each process step must becarefully monitored in order to provide an operational device.Throughout the imaging process, deposition and growth process, etchingand masking process, etc., it is critical, for example, thattemperature, gas flow, vacuum pressure, chemical gas or plasmacomposition and exposure distance be carefully controlled during eachstep. Careful attention to the various processing conditions involved ineach step is a requirement of optimal semiconductor or thin filmprocesses. Any deviation from optimal processing conditions may causethe ensuing integrated circuit or device to perform at a substandardlevel or, worse yet, fail completely.

Within a processing chamber, processing conditions vary. The variationsin processing conditions such as temperature, gas flow rate and/or gascomposition greatly affect the formation and thus the performance of theintegrated circuit. Using a substrate-like device to measure theprocessing conditions that is of the same or similar material as theintegrated circuit or other device provides the most accurate measure ofthe conditions because the thermal conductivity of the substrate is thesame as the actual circuits that will be processed. Gradients andvariations exist throughout the chamber for virtually all processconditions. These gradients therefore also exist across the surface of asubstrate. In order to precisely control processing conditions at thesubstrate, it is critical that measurements be taken upon the substrateand that the readings are available to an automated control system oroperator so that the optimization of the chamber processing conditionscan be readily achieved. Processing conditions include any parameterused to control semiconductor or other device manufacture or anycondition a manufacturer would desire to monitor.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,691,068 to Freed et al. teaches a sensor apparatuscapable of measuring data, processing data, storing data, andtransmitting data for a process tool used for processing workpieces. Thesensor apparatus includes an information processor, embedded executablecommands for controlling the apparatus, and at least one sensor. Thesensor apparatus is capable of being loaded into a process tool. Thesensor apparatus has capabilities for near real time data collection andcommunication.

Conventionally, the low profile wireless measurement device is mountedon the substrate to measure the processing conditions. For a low profilewireless measurement device to work in a high temperature environment(e.g., temperatures greater than about 150° C.), certain key componentsof the device, such as thin batteries and microprocessors, must be ableto function when the device is exposed to the high temperatureenvironment. Conventionally, the back AR coating (BARC) process operatesat 250° C.; a CVD process may operate at a temperature of about 500° C.;and a PVD process may operate at about 300° C. Unfortunately, many typesof battery, for example thin film Li batteries, melt at 180° C. Thebattery packaging materials may outgas at 180° C. also causing batterydamage.

To build a high temperature (150° C. and higher) version of a wirelesstemperature measurement device, certain components that are commerciallyavailable have limited ability to operate at high temperatures.Furthermore, components with sufficient high temperature capability arenot likely to be commercially available in the near future. A furtherchallenge is that, in addition to being insulated against heat transfer,the battery should keep a profile of 2 mm or less in the wirelessmeasurement device in order to fit into various process chambers.

It is within this context that embodiments of the present inventionarise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following detailed description and upon reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is an exploded three dimensional diagram of a thin insulatedcomponent package according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of a thin insulated component packageaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of a thin insulated thin componentpackage according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a top view schematic diagram of a measurement substrate withthin insulated component packages mounted on top of the substrate.

FIG. 2B is a side view of the measurement substrate of FIG. 2A with thininsulated component packages mounted on top of the substrate withoutstand-offs according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2C is a side view of the measurement substrate of FIG. 2A with thininsulated component packages mounted on top of the substrate withstand-offs according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2D is a side view cross-section of the measurement substrate ofFIG. 2A with thin insulated component packages mounted into substratecavities according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Although the following detailed description contains many specificdetails for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to thefollowing details are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly,the exemplary embodiments of the invention described below are set forthwithout any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitationsupon, the claimed invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,568 and US publication No. 20060174720 to Renken etal. (the entire disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein byreference) teach a measuring device incorporating a substrate with aplurality of sensors attached to the substrate used to measure theprocessing conditions of the substrate during the manufacturing. Thesubstrate can be inserted into a processing chamber by a robot head andthe measuring device can transmit the conditions in real time or storethe conditions for subsequent analysis. Sensitive electronic componentsof the device can be distanced or isolated from the most deleteriousprocessing conditions in order to increase the accuracy, operatingrange, and reliability of the device. Often however, it may not bepractical or desirable to raise an electronic component on legs if a lowprofile is desired. In addition, raising the component above a substratemight not be sufficient by itself to protect the components exposed tohigh temperatures over an extended period of time.

Embodiments of the present invention utilize novel thin insulatedcomponent packages that keep temperature-sensitive components within asafe operating temperature range while the device is exposed to hightemperatures over an extended period of time (such as survey time). FIG.1A is an exploded three dimensional diagram and FIG. 1B is a schematiccross-sectional view of a thin insulated component package 100Aaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. The package 100Acan include a thermally insulating outer enclosure 126 which may be madeof a thermally insulating material, such as a ceramic glass. It isdesirable to make the outer enclosure 126 from high specific heatcapacity materials to add thermal mass to the package 100A withoutadding too much height.

As used herein, the term “thermally insulating” refers to the propertyof being resistant to transfer of heat across a material or medium as aresult of low thermal conductivity and/or high heat capacity. As usedherein, the term “thermally absorbing” refers to the property of beingresistant to transfer of heat as a result of high heat capacity, but notnecessarily due to low thermal conductivity. As may be seen from theforegoing, “thermally absorbing” is a subset of “thermally insulating.”

The thermally insulating outer enclosure 126 can be made of a thin, flatand high modulus material, e.g., sapphire, mica, an Inconel alloy,Kovar, ceramic, or a combination of Kovar and ceramic. Inconel is aregistered trademark of Special Metals Corporation that refers to afamily of austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloys. A non-limitingexample of an Inconel alloy is Inconel 600, which is 72% nickel, 14-17%chromium, 6-10% iron, 1% manganese, 0.5% copper, 0.5% silicon, 0.15%carbon and 0.015% sulfur. Kovar is a trademark of Carpenter TechnologyCorporation and refers to a nickel-cobalt ferrous alloy designed to becompatible with the thermal expansion characteristics of borosilicateglass. The composition of Kovar is about 29% nickel, 17% cobalt, lessthan 0.1% carbon, 0.2% silicon, 0.3% manganese with the balance beingiron.

An insulating insert 128 is sized and shaped to fit within a cavity orrecess in the outer enclosure 126. The insert 128 can be madeessentially of high temperature machinable thermally insulatingrefractory ceramic material. Examples of such materials include, but arenot limited to, commercially available rigid ceramic materials made fromsilica (SiO₂) or yttria-stabilized ceramic fibers, e.g., Zirconia (ZrO₂)fibers, that do not undergo the usual phase transitions associated withpure form of the ceramic. Other suitable materials include mica ceramic.By way of example, and not by way of limitation, a suitable ceramicmaterial may have a nominal composition of about 90% by weight ofZirconia (ZrO₂) and Hafnia (HfO₂) (e.g., about 1-2 wt % Hafnia, whichoccurs naturally with Zirconia) and about 10% by weight of yttria(Y₂O₃). It is possible that other oxides may be present as impurities,e.g., of 0.1% or less.

The insulating insert 128 can encapsulate a thin electronic component102, e.g., a thin film battery. By way of example, and not by way oflimitation, the thickness of the component 102 may be about 6 mils. Byway of example, the insert 128 may include an inner cavity or recess 130that is sized and shaped to receive the component 102. By way ofexample, and not by way of limitation, the electronic component 102 maybe, e.g., a thin film battery or an integrated circuit, such as aprocessor. The inner cavity 130 is generally thinner than the cavity inthe enclosure 126. By way of example, and not by way of limitation, theinner cavity 130 may be ⅔ the overall thickness of the component package100A. By way of example, the overall dimensions of the enclosure 126 andinsert 128 the may be selected such that the component package 100A isapproximately 36 mm square by 5 to 6 mm thick or less.

One or more feed-thrus for kinematic anchors 133 or electricalconnections to the electronic component 102 may be formed in the outerenclosure 126 or the insert 128. The kinematic anchors 133 canfacilitate mounting the component package 100A to a substrate, such as asemiconductor wafer. By way of example, and not by way of limitation,the kinematic anchors may be pins that fit into holes or recesses in aside of the outer enclosure 126. The pins can mount the outer enclosureto a kinematic structure that mounts the component package 100A onto asubstrate. The kinematic structure can be custom made to the packagesize. Each pin may include a shoulder proximate one end to stop the pinfrom sliding too far into the hole in the side of the enclosure. Thepins may be made of a suitable material having good structuralproperties and relatively good thermally insulating properties, such asstainless steel. Each pin can be received at a second end by acorresponding structure (e.g., a slot or groove) on the substrate. Theuse of sufficiently small diameter straight pins in holes in a side ofthe outer enclosure can provide for stability in mounting the componentpackage 100A to the substrate while reducing thermal contact with thesubstrate.

The electronic component 102 may be bonded into the inner cavity 130 ofthe insert 128, e.g., using a suitable adhesive (e.g., Fire Temp glue)or other bonding technique. An optional insulating cover piece 134 maybe sized and shaped to cover the electronic component 102 and close theinner cavity 130. The cover piece 134 may be made of the same insulatingceramic material as the insert 128. The package 100A may be sealed witha lid 136 that is bonded to a top of a wall of the insert 128, or a topof a wall of the outer enclosure 126, e.g., with a high temperatureadhesive. By way of example, the lid 136 may be made of a materialhaving similar thermal expansion characteristics to that of the outerenclosure 126. By way of example and not by way of limitation, if theouter enclosure 126 is made of a ceramic glass such as borosilicateglass or Al₂O₃ ceramic, the lid 136 may be made of Kovar. Alternatively,the lid 136 can be bonded to a top of a wall of the insert 128 or to asubstrate to which the package 100A is to be mounted. In such cases, thelid 136 may be made of a material having similar thermal expansioncharacteristics to that of the insert or the substrate. For example, ifthe lid is to be bonded to a substrate that is made of silicon, the lid136 can also be made of silicon.

The electronic component 102 and insert 128 can be sealed in the outerenclosure 126 under vacuum so that vacuum further insulates theelectronic component 102. By way of example, and not by way oflimitation, the thickness of the wall of the outer enclosure 126 may beabout 10 to 15 mil. The internal volume of the enclosure cavity may beabout 1 cubic centimeter (1 ml). The enclosure 126 may be internally andexternally coated with low emissivity film, e.g., gold film, or a filmhaving emissivity similar to that of gold or lower than that of gold, tominimize radiative heat transfer from the enclosure to the parts inside.The enclosure 126 can have a through hole 138, to evacuate the spaceinside the enclosure to minimize heat transfer by conduction andconvection when the enclosure 126 is inside a vacuum chamber in aprocess tool. Furthermore, the materials of the outer enclosure 126 maybe high specific heat materials selected to add thermal mass to thepackage without adding too much height. Examples of suitable materialsinclude, but are not limited to, for example, sapphire, stainless steel,Kovar, an Inconel alloy or a ceramic material or combinations of two ormore of these materials or materials having similar specific heatcapacities to these materials or higher specific heat capacities.

Furthermore, the outer enclosure 126 is preferably made of strongmaterial that can hold its shape under vacuum.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the construction of theinsert 128 and cover piece 134 in the component package 100A may alteredto slow down the increase in temperature of the electronic component102. As shown in FIG. 1C, a thin insulated component package 100B may beconfigured similarly to the component package 100A of FIGS. 1A-1B.Specifically, the package 100B can include a thermally insulating outerenclosure 126, an insert 128 made is sized and shaped to fit within acavity in the outer enclosure 126. The insert includes an inner cavitysized and shaped to receive a thin electronic component 102. In thisembodiment, the insert can be made of alternating interdigitated layersof thermally absorbing material 142 and low thermal conductivitymaterial or medium 144. A cover piece 134 for the insert can besimilarly constructed. By way of example, the thermally absorbingmaterial 142 may include Inconel, or Kovar and the low thermalconductivity material or medium 144 can include a ceramic material,e.g., a high temperature machinable thermally insulating refractoryceramic material, such as that described above or vacuum. Alternatingthermally absorbing material and low thermal conductivity material ormedium in the insert 128 can reduce the rate of temperature change ofthe electronic component 102.

One or more thermally insulated electronic component packages like thatshown in FIGS. 1A-1C may be mounted on a substrate, such as asemiconductor wafer, with or without stand-offs to further insulate thepackage from the substrate. For example, as shown schematically in FIG.2A, a process condition measurement device 200 may have one or more thininsulated component packages 100A of the type depicted in FIG. 1Amounted on a top surface of a substrate 201. The substrate may be thesame size and shape as a standard substrate processed by a semiconductorwafer processing system. Examples of standard sized substrates include,but are not limited to 150 mm, 200 mm and 300 mm semiconductor wafers.By way of example, and not by way of limitation, an electronic componentsuch as a battery 202 can be mounted within one of the packages 100A.The battery 202 may be electrically connected to a bus 204. There mayalternatively be only one battery package or more than two batteriesinstalled, depending upon the application and resulting power needs. Thedevice 200 may include measurement electronics 205 that are powered bythe batteries and/or exchange electronic signals through the bus 204. Byway of example, and not by way of limitation, the measurementelectronics 205 may include a processor module 207, a memory 209, atransceiver 211, and one or more process condition sensors, e.g., anelectromagnetic sensor 213, a thermal sensor 215, and an optical orelectrical sensor 217. In some embodiments, certain elements of themeasurement electronics 205 (e.g., the processor module 207, memory 209,transceiver 211, thermal sensor 215, or optical sensor 217) may bepacked in component packages of the types described herein.

The processor module 207 may be configured to execute instructionsstored in the main memory 209 in order for the device 200 to properlymeasure process parameters when the device is placed within a substrateprocessing tool. The main memory 209 may be in the form of an integratedcircuit, e.g., RAM, DRAM, ROM and the like. The transceiver 211 may beconfigured to communicate data and/or electrical power two or from thedevice 200.

As seen in FIG. 2B, two or more component packages 100A may be mounteddirectly on the top surface of the substrate 201. Alternatively, asshown in FIG. 2C, two or more component packages 100A may be mounted tothe top surface of the substrate 201 using a kinematic structure 206that mounts the outer enclosure via the kinematic mounts 133. Thisallows for a gap between the component packages 100A and the substrate201 to further insulate the batteries from the substrate. The kinematicstructure 206 may include slots or grooves to receive the kinematicmounts 133 e.g., pins as described above. Furthermore, as shown in FIG.2D, two or more component packages 100A may be mounted into substratecavities formed in the top surface of the substrate 201 to provide a lowprofile. The component packages 100A may be mounted via the kinematicmounts 133 to a kinematic structure 206 in the outer cavity.

As noted above, the use of sufficiently small diameter pins in holes ina side of the outer enclosure can provide for stability in mounting thecomponent package 100A to the substrate 201 while reducing thermalcontact with the substrate. As also noted above, the lid 136 can bemounted to the substrate 201 and cover the substrate 201 and thecavities into which the outer enclosures 126 are mounted. Alternatively,each cavity may have an individual lid. Furthermore, each componentpackage 100A may alternatively be mounted into a cavity without a lid.

By appropriate selection of the thickness of the component 102, theouter enclosure 126, insert 128, and cover piece 134, the profile of themeasurement device 200 may be made less than 2 mm above the surface ofthe substrate 201. Such a device can be used to do in-situ measurementsof process conditions in a semiconductor process tool withoutmechanically interfering with the operation of the tool.

Many variations on the above-described embodiments are within the scopeof embodiments of the present invention. For example, the thickness ofthe lower wall or sidewalls of the insert 128 can be varied depending onwhether a source of heat is located above, below, or to a side of thecomponent package. Similarly, the thickness of the cover piece 134 mayvary, or the cover piece may be omitted entirely, depending on whetherthe heat source is located above or below the component package.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detailwith reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions arepossible. For example, although a pump-down hole is shown in FIGS.1B-1C, embodiments of the invention include constructions in which thepump-down hole is omitted. Therefore, the spirit and scope of theappended claims should not be limited to the description of thepreferred versions contained herein. Instead, the scope of the inventionshould be determined with reference to the appended claims, along withtheir full scope of equivalents. All the features disclosed in thisspecification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings)may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent orsimilar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unlessexpressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example onlyof a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

While the above is a complete description of the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, it is possible to use various alternatives,modifications and equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the presentinvention should be determined not with reference to the abovedescription but should, instead, be determined with reference to theappended claims, along with their full scope of equivalents. Anyfeature, whether preferred or not, may be combined with any otherfeature, whether preferred or not. In the claims that follow, theindefinite article “A”, or “An” refers to a quantity of one or more ofthe item following the article, except where expressly stated otherwise.The appended claims are not to be interpreted as includingmeans-plus-function limitations, unless such a limitation is explicitlyrecited in a given claim using the phrase “means for.” Any element in aclaim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specifiedfunction, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause asspecified in 35 USC §112, ¶ 6. In particular, the use of “step of” inthe claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 USC§112, ¶ 6.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which arefiled concurrently with this specification and which are open to publicinspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papersand documents incorporated herein by reference.

1. A thermally insulated electronic component package, comprising: athin electronic component; a thermally insulating outer enclosure; andan insert made of a thermally insulating material that is sized andshaped to fit within the outer enclosure, wherein the insert includes aninner cavity sized and shaped to receive the thin electronic component.2. The thermally insulated electronic component package of claim 1wherein the thin electronic component comprises a battery.
 3. Thethermally insulated electronic component package of claim 1, wherein thethermally insulating outer enclosure is made of one or more high heatcapacity materials.
 4. The thermally insulated electronic componentpackage of claim 3, wherein the high heat capacity materials includestainless steel, an austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloy, anickel-cobalt ferrous alloy or a ceramic material.
 5. The thermallyinsulated electronic component package of claim 1 where in the outerenclosure is made of a low thermal conductivity material.
 6. Thethermally insulated electronic component package of claim 1 wherein theouter enclosure is made of a low emissivity and high heat capacitymaterial.
 7. The thermally insulated electronic component package ofclaim 1 wherein the enclosure is made of stainless steel, an austeniticnickel-chromium-based superalloy, a nickel-cobalt ferrous alloy, or aceramic material.
 8. The thermally insulated electronic componentpackage of claim 7 wherein the thickness of a wall of the enclosure isabout 10 to 15 mil.
 9. The thermally insulated electronic componentpackage of claim 1 wherein an inner and outer surface of the outerenclosure is coated with a thin film containing a low emissivitymaterial.
 10. The thermally insulated electronic component package ofclaim 9 wherein the low emissivity material is gold.
 11. The thermallyinsulated electronic component package of claim 1, further comprisingone or more structures configured to mount the outer enclosure to asubstrate.
 12. The thermally insulated electronic component package ofclaim 11 wherein one or more of the structures include one or more pinsconfigured to fit into one or more corresponding holes in a side of theouter enclosure.
 13. The thermally insulated electronic componentpackage of claim 1 wherein a total thickness of the enclosure about 5 to6 mm or less.
 14. The thermally insulated electronic component packageof claim 1 wherein the enclosure is evacuated and sealed.
 15. Thethermally insulated electronic component package of claim 1, furthercomprising a cover piece sized and shaped to cover the electroniccomponent and close the inner cavity.
 16. The thermally insulatedelectronic component package of claim 15 wherein the cover piece is madeof the same material as the insert.
 17. The thermally insulatedelectronic component package of claim 1, further comprising a lid thatis bonded to a top of a wall of the outer enclosure or to a substrate towhich the thermally insulated electronic component package is mounted.18. The thermally insulated electronic component package of claim 17wherein the lid is made of a material having similar thermal expansioncharacteristics to that of the enclosure.
 19. The thermally insulatedelectronic component package of claim 1 wherein the insert is made of athermally insulating ceramic material.
 20. The thermally insulatedelectronic component package of claim 19 wherein the ceramic material isa machinable ceramic material.
 21. The thermally insulated electroniccomponent package of claim 1 wherein the insert is made of alternatinginterdigitating layers of low thermal conductivity material andthermally absorbing material.
 22. An electronic instrument suitable forprocess conditions in a high temperature environment, comprising: asubstrate; and one or more thermally insulated electronic componentpackage having a thermally insulating outer enclosure configured tomount to the substrate, an insert made of a thermally insulatingmaterial that is sized an shaped to fit within the outer enclosure,wherein the insert includes an inner cavity sized and shaped to receivea thin electronic component, and a thin electronic component disposedwithin the inner cavity.
 23. The instrument of claim 22 wherein theouter enclosure is mounted on a top surface of the substrate.
 24. Theinstrument of claim 22, further comprising a plurality of stand-offs areconfigured to provide support between the outer enclosure and thesubstrate, wherein a gap is present between a bottom surface of theenclosure and the substrate.
 25. The instrument of claim 22 wherein thesubstrate includes a substrate cavity and the outer enclosure is mountedin the substrate cavity.
 26. The instrument of claim 25 furthercomprising a lid configured to cover the substrate and the electroniccomponents
 27. The instrument of claim 26 wherein the lid piece is madeof the same material as the substrate
 28. The instrument of claim 22,further comprising a lid that is bonded to a top of the insert or to atop of a wall of the outer enclosure or to the substrate.
 29. Theinstrument of claim 30 wherein the lid is made of a material havingsimilar thermal expansion characteristics to that of the outer enclosureor the substrate.
 30. The instrument of claim 23, further comprising oneor more structures configured to mount the outer enclosure to asubstrate.
 31. The instrument of claim 30 wherein one or more of thestructures include one or more pins, each pin having a first endconfigured to fit into one or more corresponding holes in a side of theouter enclosure and one or more structures on the substrate, whereineach of the one or more structures is configured to receive a second endof a corresponding one of the pins.